The Wetfoot Blog

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Many Hands Make Light Work

While we can’t claim John Heywood (the man credited with these words) as a Camp Manito-wish YMCA alumni, we believe he must have known about Camp’s Memorial Day Work Weekend when he said this!

We just wrapped up an amazing weekend at Camp Manito-wish with over 240 volunteers helping us clean up Camp for the summer season of programs. Imagine volunteers ranging in age from 2 months to over 80 years ... Imagine three generations of a families coming together for the weekend to give back to Manito-wish ... Imagine wood (lots of wood) being split and stacked, piers being put in the water, all cabins and program buildings cleaned from top to bottom (including the roofs!), costumes sorted, bikes repaired, shelves built, walkways swept, dirt moved down the ramp to the boathouse, fence lines repaired, brush cleared, windows cleaned, and so much more ... Imagine campfires, camp shows, good food, chapel, island swims, and many other moments of fun and fellowship on the shores of Boulder Lake! This is what Memorial Day Work Weekend is all about.

If you walk into Nash Lodge, Camp Manito-wish’s historic dining hall, you’ll find a plaque that includes these words: “The word community is derived from the Latin communis which means “common, public, shared by all or many.”

Memorial Day Work Weekend is all about community and collaboration. It is a shared experience with a family that is formed each year as people come together to share this weekend of giving back. The most valuable thing people have to offer - - their time - - is combined with the many unique talents of the community. The synergy is electric and amazing.

It’s a crazy thing to invite people to come and help you get work done and then have them thank Camp for giving them the opportunity! Community or collaboration ... No matter what you call it, Camp Manito-wish YMCA is grateful to its COMMUNITY for COLLABORATING with us over Memorial Day Weekend to ensure our facility is ready to welcome the over 1,000 participants who will visit in the next three months.

When asked what Camp needed to keep doing to make the work weekend a success, the response was, “WE (volunteers) need to keep coming! You (Camp) need to still be here!” As we begin our 92nd season of summer programs, and celebrate our 41st Memorial Day Work Weekend, we’ll do our part to “still be here” ... and we’ll look forward to your involvement in future Work Weekends.